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1981 Kansas Jayhawks football team

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1981 Kansas Jayhawks football
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Record8–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach
CaptainDavid Lawrence, Greg Smith
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Nebraska $ 7 0 0 9 3 0
No. 20 Oklahoma 4 2 1 7 4 1
Kansas 4 3 0 7 5 0
Oklahoma State 4 3 0 7 5 0
No. 19 Missouri 3 4 0 8 4 0
Iowa State 2 4 1 5 5 1
Colorado 2 5 0 3 8 0
Kansas State 1 6 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh season under head coach Don Fambrough, the Jayhawks compiled an 8–4 record (4–3 against conference opponents), tied for third place in the conference, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 195 to 188.[1][2] They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

The team's statistical leaders included Frank Seurer with 1,199 passing yards, Garfield Taylor with 728 rushing yards, and Wayne Capers with 629 receiving yards.[3] David Lawrence and Greg Smith were the team captains.[2]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5at Tulsa*W 15–1136,824
September 12Oregon*W 19–1033,840
September 26Kentucky*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS
W 21–1640,200[4]
October 3Arkansas State*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS
W 17–1632,100[5]
October 10Oklahoma Statedagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS
L 7–2039,810
October 17at OklahomaL 7–4575,644
October 24Kansas State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS (rivalry)
W 17–1451,600
October 31at No. 12 NebraskaL 15–3176,208
November 7at Iowa StateW 24–1149,720
November 14Colorado
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Lawrence, KS
W 27–031,500
November 21Missouri
W 19–1147,500
December 31vs. Mississippi State*L 0–1041,672[6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

[edit]
1981 Kansas Jayhawks football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 16 Mike Bohn Jr
TE 80 Sylvester Byrd Fr
WR 20 Wayne Capers Jr
G 69 Paul Fairchild Jr
WR 88 Bobby Johnson Jr
FB 39 E. J. Jones So
OT 78 Jay McAdam Sr
QB 15 Mike Phipps Jr
QB 10 Frank Seurer So
OT 76 Reggie Smith So
QB 12 Steve Smith Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 70 Cedric Alexander Fr
DB 2 Dino Bell Fr
CB 33 Jeff Colter Jr
LB 45 Scott Connors So
CB 32 Elvis Patterson So
DT 77 Greg Smith Sr
DB 5 Dan Wagoner Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 8 Bucky Scribner Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1981 Kansas Jayhawks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  2. ^ a b 2017 Kansas Football Media Guide, p. 186.
  3. ^ "1981 Kansas Jayhawks Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "KU overcomes loss of Bell". The Kansas City Star. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "KU field goal at 0:09 keeps record clean". The Kansas City Star. October 4, 1981. Retrieved August 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Bulldogs take command early to shut out Jayhawks". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1982. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.